1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming system including a device such as an image forming apparatus connectable to a network, a device managing method thereof, and a program for executing the device managing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a technique of this type field is, for example, illustrated in FIG. 10.
FIG. 10 is a view which is useful in illustrating an exemplary configuration of a conventional image forming system.
This image forming system is provided with an image forming apparatus 2002 connected to a LAN through a print controlling apparatus 2201. The print controlling apparatus 2201 and the image forming apparatus 2002 are connected by a communication line 2202 and an image signal connection line 2203.
The print controlling apparatus 2201 is utilized to provide the image forming apparatus 2002 with a function of a network printer, or to expand or enhance the function of a network printer which is previously provided in the image forming apparatus 2002. The function of a network printer is to print out an image according to an image signal inputted from an external apparatus through a network. Conventionally, when the print controlling apparatus 2201 is used, the print controlling apparatus 2201 is connected to the LAN to be able to communicate with another device on the LAN.
On the other hand, the communication line 2202 to be originally connected to the LAN in the image forming apparatus 2002 is used to be locally connected to the print controlling apparatus 2201. The print controlling apparatus 2201 and the image forming apparatus 2002 are connected one-on-one on a network, and are disconnected from the LAN to which another device is connected, so that the image forming apparatus 2002 can communicate with only the print controlling apparatus 2201 through the communication line 2202. Generally, image data in which an amount of information is huge, and a high rate communication is requested is communicated between the print controlling apparatus 2201 and the image forming apparatus 2002 through the image signal connection line 2203 (connecting unit).
A computer apparatus 2001 (information processing apparatus) is connected to the LAN. A device monitoring and managing program, which monitors and manages a device connected on the LAN, is executed in the computer apparatus 2001. The SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) defined by the RFC 1157 is generally used to monitor and manage the device connected on the LAN.
The computer apparatus 2001 transfers a request packet for reading the necessary MIB (Management Information Base) object on the LAN by a broadcast method by using the SNMP protocol. When there is a device which can respond to this broadcast packet on the LAN, the device transmits a response of the MIB object requested by using the SNMP to the computer apparatus 2001. When there are a plurality of devices to be managed on the LAN, this response is executed by all the devices to be managed.
The device monitoring and managing program executed on the computer apparatus 2001 detects, in the above sequence, a device, such as the image forming apparatus and the print controlling apparatus, which is connected on the LAN and is to be managed by the own program.
In the above configuration of FIG. 10, such a result is illustrated in FIG. 11 that the device, which is connected on the LAN and is to be managed, is searched by using the device monitoring and managing program executed on the computer apparatus 2001. FIG. 11 is a view which is useful in illustrating an example of a conventional device list shown in a display of the computer apparatus 2001 in FIG. 10.
In the configuration of FIG. 10, only the print controlling apparatus 2201 is connected to the LAN, thereby causing only the print controlling apparatus 2201 to be detected, which causes information relating to the print controlling apparatus 2201 to be displayed in a window box 2102 of a device list 2101, as illustrated in FIG. 11.
However, the connection configuration of the image forming system illustrated in FIG. 10 provides the following problems.
The recent image forming apparatus 2002 is multi-functioned as a multi-function device, and then is directly connected to the LAN to provide another network device connected to the LAN with many functions. The examples are set forth below.
(1) A printing job server function of enabling a printing job to be transferred from the computer apparatus 2001 on the LAN to the image forming apparatus 2002.
(2) A transmitting function of transmitting image data scanned by a scanner to another network device connected on the LAN.
(3) A Web server function of enabling a variety of settings and a status display of the image forming apparatus 2002 by using a Web browser of the computer apparatus 2001 on the LAN.
While many network functions other than the exemplified functions are also provided from a vender of each image forming apparatus, in the connection configuration illustrated in FIG. 10, the high-level and highly-convenient network functions provided by such an image forming apparatus 2002 has not been able to be utilized.
Thus, in the print controlling apparatus 2201, a technique has been adopted which relays the communication between the LAN and the image forming apparatus 2002. Since it is necessary for this technique to rewrite header information of a communication packet, as the functions of the image forming apparatus 2002 are upgraded higher, and the functions provided to the network are increased more, the load applied to the print controlling apparatus 2201 has tended to be increased more (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2002-312140).
As described above, in the conventional technique, a load, which is induced when the print controlling apparatus 2201 relays the communication packet, is increased to the extent that the network functions provided by the image forming apparatus 2002 are increased. As a result, the large adverse effect has been applied to the print data process to be originally executed by the print controlling apparatus 2201. Every time the network function of the image forming apparatus 2002 is added, it is necessary to change a communication packet relaying process of the print controlling apparatus 2201, which provides one cause for increasing a development cost or a manufacture cost for the print controlling apparatus 2201.
A connection configuration of an exemplary configuration of the image forming system as illustrated in FIG. 12 can be considered as a method for solving such a problem. As illustrated in FIG. 12, in this connection configuration, the communication line 2202 illustrated in FIG. 10 is removed, the image forming apparatus 2002 is directly connected to the LAN through a LAN cable 2401. That is, in such a configuration as that the print controlling apparatus 2201 is connected to the image forming apparatus 2002, this is such a connection configuration that the print controlling apparatus 2201 and the image forming apparatus 2002 are connected to the LAN respectively.
This eliminates the need for relaying the communication packet of the network function provided by the image forming apparatus 2002, the communication packet having been relayed by the print controlling apparatus 2201, thereby largely reducing the process load of the print controlling apparatus 2201, which enables the print controlling apparatus 2201 to be developed and manufactured without depending on the expansion of the network function of the image forming apparatus 2002.
However, in the image forming system of the connection configuration illustrated in FIG. 12, searching the device to be managed on the computer apparatus 2001 (information processing apparatus) provides a problem that a plurality of the devices on the network are detected, as illustrated in FIG. 13. That is, when the device to be managed is searched on the computer apparatus 2001, both the print controlling apparatus 2201 and the image forming apparatus 2002 respond to the searching. The print controlling apparatus 2201 and the image forming apparatus 2002 are connected by the image signal connection line 2203, and such apparatuses may operate in pairs as one printing device. In such a case, while one print service is actually provided, the search result becomes as if two print services were provided. Thus, a user may have been unable to correctly determine which device of the detected devices a print job should be transmitted to.
An interconnection relation is not apparent between the print controlling apparatus 2201 and the image forming apparatus 2002. Thus, if there are a plurality of the print controlling apparatuses and the image forming apparatuses whose connection configurations are the same on the LAN, and all of such apparatuses are displayed in the window box 2102 of a device list 2101, the user may be further confused. That is, the user cannot correctly determine a connection relation between the print controlling apparatus 2201 and the image forming apparatus 2002, and cannot quickly and surely set up.